That is how Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards has described his return to coaching this fall after a nine-year sabbatical at ESPN.

Fun in the fact that the former Monterey High defensive back is in his realm, in his comfort zone on the sidelines — a place he’s spent 30-plus years as a player and coach.

Frustrating because the Sun Devils are perhaps three plays away from being 6-1 instead of 3-4 after Thursday’s 20-13 loss to Stanford.

The Sun Devils have lost four games by one score.

“We have had opportunities to make plays on either side of the ball,” Edwards said before the Stanford game. “The effort is there. But mistakes against good football teams cost you.”

The Sun Devils faced their fourth nationally-ranked team Thursday in the Cardinal, once upon a time a rival of Edwards’ when he played at Cal.

“In my opinion that program starts with coach (David) Shaw,” Edwards said. “He is one of the best college coaches in the country. We want to become that team, where you’re competitive in conference.”

Edwards has already achieved part of that goal. The Sun Devils have losses by seven points to San Diego State, Washington, Colorado and Stanford, who are a combined 20-6.

“We’ve outscored teams (182-147),” but the Sun Devils are just 3-4, said Edwards, who has lost three games on the road. “That’s been a problem here in the past. We’re trying to build a culture here.”

Edwards spent eight years in the NFL as a head coach for the Jets and Chiefs, taking four teams to the postseason. Prior to that he was the assistant head coach in Tampa Bay.

After nearly a decade of analyzing NFL games for ESPN, Edwards couldn’t resist the temptation to return to the sidelines in a completely different situation, coaching college football.

His only experience as a college coach came after a nine-year NFL career with the Eagles, when he spent a season as a defensive backs coach at San Jose State.

“It has been everything I’ve anticipated,” said Edwards, who intercepted 33 passes in his career and recovered arguably the most famous fumble in NFL history with the Eagles, known as the “Miracle at the Meadowlands.”

“It’s what I do,” Edwards said. “I’m so thankful for being back and building a program.”

Picked to finish last in the Pac 12 South Conference, the Sun Devils are 1-3 on conference play. The loss to Stanford was their first home loss of the season.

Much like the case in losses to San Diego State and Washington, the Sun Devils had a chance to tie the game with Stanford, running out of time with the ball inside the red zone.

“Going forward, we understand the task at hand,” Edwards said.

In Arizona State’s 28-21 loss to 5-1 Colorado, it gave up a pair of touchdowns. It also failed to hold a seven-point lead, allowing 14 straight unanswered points in the second half.

“It’s not just talk, it’s real,” Edwards said. “Players are realizing that. Down the stretch, hopefully we can be in position to win these games by making a play in big moments. It’s part of the journey.”

While most college teams average between 15 to 17 possessions a game, Arizona State has hovered around 10 and 11 possessions a game — in part because of sustained drives.

“We’re only averaging 10 possessions a game,” said Edwards, whose squad had just two possessions in the third quarter Thursday. “Part of that is we haven’t done a good job on third down this year.”

Where the Sun Devils have been good is at home, where they’re 3-1, having outscored the opposition 130-64.

“This is my first year in this conference,” Edwards said. “I’m learning a lot about the coaches I am coaching against and the personnel we’re playing against. Success doesn’t happen overnight.”

Edwards, who also spent a season as a shutdown cornerback at MPC, has a more realistic idea of his own personnel, which included nearly 80 players that came with the job.

He’s wasted little time incorporating his recruits into the lineup, starting four freshman on defense this fall.

“That’s fine,” Edward said. “But at some point, you hope the veterans take over. You hope some of those guys are making the plays for you, especially on offense where there is veteran leadership.”

While the 2-0 start, which included an upset win over Michigan State temporally had the Sun Devils nationally ranked, Edwards tempered his excitement.

A loss to San Diego State, who is 5-1, the following week was a reminder that the program has a lot of work in front of it if it wants to retain national status on a weekly basis.

“We have a lot of things to clean up,” Edwards said. “What I like is we’ve been competitive in every game. We realize where we could be. At the same time, we know where we are.”